ConxusNEO Team

Meet the ConxusNEO team who strive to:

  • Position businesses to remain competitive and grow by accessing qualified diverse talent.
  • Support educators to align curriculum with relevant in-demand skills.
  • Help workforce development programs better understand opportunities.
  • Mobilize communities to overcome real-life barriers to good jobs that lead to great careers.
  • Increase access to economic mobility for minority populations.

Emily Baarson

Manager, Projects and Initiatives
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Emily Baarson

Manager, Projects and Initiatives

Emily Baarson brings a unique range of experiences to Conxus as Manager, Projects and Initiatives. Her twenty-year career has been shaped by enabling community change through planning and economic development. In recent years, her work has focused on enhancing access to opportunity and improving workforce mobility. She is a creative collaborator who thrives on engaging with community partners to solve complex challenges and find creative funding to do so.

As the spouse of a retired military officer, Emily has lived and worked in many interesting places. While living with constant change could seem overwhelming to some, Emily saw her family’s moves as opportunities to learn and flourished in the midst of change and the challenge of adapting to new situations.

Having experienced such a range of places and work environments, she gained first-hand knowledge of the importance of workplace policies that support adaptive thinking and life-work balance. In an era when more women hold advanced degrees than men, Emily sees a critical need to provide meaningful and flexible ways for women who frequently relocate or have changing family needs to contribute to the economy.

Originally from Northeast Ohio, Emily earned a Bachelor of Science in Botany/Environmental Science from Miami University (Ohio) and a Master of Urban Planning, Design and Development from Cleveland State University. After many years away, Emily and her family relocated to Ohio in 2019 to be closer to extended family and enjoy the great quality of life and incredible educational opportunities offered in the Buckeye State.

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Jean Barbato

Senior Manager, Manufacturing Sector Partnership
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Jean Barbato

Senior Manager, Manufacturing Sector Partnership

Jean brings 15 years of experience in higher education working with recruitment, advising and retention for non-traditional, adult completion programs, and grant management in workforce training and apprenticeships. She also has 35 years of experience as a small business owner and understands the difficulties and the importance of training and retaining employees.
At ConxusNEO, Jean is the Senior Manager of the Manufacturing Sector Partnership with oversight of the sector partnership, the U.S. Department of Labor Scaling Apprenticeship grant and the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Good Jobs Challenge program. Her responsibilities include collaborating with local community-based organizations who serve underrepresented, underserved people in the greater Akron region to provide training and to gain quality job opportunities for career growth.
Jean earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Management and a Master of Business Administration from Walsh University in North Canton, OH. She is on the Advisory Board for the Stark County’s Greater Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank Community Harvest program, is a member of the Cleveland Clinic Mercy Hospital Service League, and is the chair of the grant writing committee for Another Act of Kindness.

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Michelle Cassetty Collins

Executive Director
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Michelle Cassetty Collins

Executive Director

Michelle Cassetty Collins brings 20 years of leadership experience in higher education where she led initiatives related to the recruitment and retention of students. Her experience working with academic programs in a consortium is foundational to the value she places on collaboration to reach shared outcomes. She has a deep desire to improve the quality and effectiveness of an organization, a process or a system.  At ConxusNEO, Michelle manages research initiatives, coordinates with College and Career Academies of Akron, spearheads pilot projects, and supports the organization’s leadership and staff. Michelle earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Bible from Kentucky Christian College, a Master of Science in Higher Education degree from The University of Akron, and a Master of Education in Cultural Foundations at Kent State University where she studied marginalization and inequalities in education through the lenses of sociology, anthropology, philosophy, and history.

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Ameeca Holmes, Engagement Manager, Healthcare Sector Partnership

Ameeca Holmes

Senior Manager, Healthcare Sector Partnership
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Ameeca Holmes, Engagement Manager, Healthcare Sector Partnership

Ameeca Holmes

Senior Manager, Healthcare Sector Partnership

Ameeca is an Akron native and comes from a local hospital with 11 years of experience. Ameeca is passionate about community outreach efforts and has led many grant initiatives related to youth development, education, and public health issues focusing on maternal and child health. All of her previous work experiences have awarded her the knowledge and skills to raise awareness and facilitate beneficial programming in adverse communities.

Ameeca received her bachelor’s and Masters of Arts from Kent State University. At ConxusNEO, she manages the Healthcare Sector Partnership and continue to foster and promote relationships in the community with local healthcare facilities to support workforce development opportunities.

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Hope Mills

Senior Manager, Community Partnerships
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Hope Mills

Senior Manager, Community Partnerships

Dedicated to fostering meaningful connections and driving positive change, Hope is a is a passionate workforce development advocate with a proven track record in the non-profit sector. Hope has an exceptional ability to build bridges between organizations, stakeholders, and communities. With a strong commitment to collaboration and community empowerment, she has consistently demonstrated her capacity to create impactful partnerships that drive collective success.

With extensive experience in workforce development, and 10 years of experience in strategic planning and program management, Hope has consistently championed programs that bridge the gap between education and employment. She has successfully conceptualized, developed, and executed innovative initiatives that equip individuals with the skills and confidence needed to excel in today’s competitive job market.

Hope holds a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication from Morehead State University and continues to pursue professional development opportunities to stay at the forefront of workforce development strategies and trends.

Hope’s vision revolves around creating a future where collaboration is not just a buzzword but a cornerstone of sustainable progress. She remains committed to exploring new avenues for partnerships, amplifying community-driven initiatives, and inspiring others to contribute to the collective well-being of the community.

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Amy Neumann

Senior Manager, Tech Sector Partnership
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Amy Neumann

Senior Manager, Tech Sector Partnership

Amy Neumann is passionate about creating positive change at the intersection of technology and social impact, and is a keynote speaker, author, trainer, technology strategist, consultant, and artist. As Senior Manager of Technology Sector Partnership at ConxusNEO, she strives to inspire change leveraging technology with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

As a social good and technology professional who has been in the space for over two decades, Amy enjoys discovering new applications for technology, especially emerging tech like blockchain and AI. In 2016 she founded a startup nonprofit called Resourceful Nonprofit (and its subsidiary, Technology Inclusion) to help nonprofits accomplish their goals more efficiently and effectively via technology.

Amy is an Ohio native who spent sixteen years in Los Angeles, returning to Northeast Ohio in 2012. She has extensive workforce experience across many sectors, and in May 2023 she completed a Master of Arts degree in Law, Justice, and Culture from Ohio University. Amy speaks often and is widely published. Her 2018 Simon & Schuster book, “Simple Acts to Change the World: 500 Ways to Make a Difference,” is a tribute to the many great ideas she’s discovered on the topics of social good, social justice, equity, technology for good, and volunteering through her work and philanthropy.

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